Intellectual Forum Research Articles

“There are strengths that are vast”

“There are strengths that are vast”

Iraqi Women’s role in social and intellectual work- Sister Assemblies and Muslim Women’s forum example

This study attempts to highlight the role of sister associations and the Muslim women’s social and intellectual forum in caring for women and preserving them form perverse ideas, it is educated in an Islamic culture including through religious educational and polite lessons and lectures, printing and distribution of Islamic books, letters and leaflets among the people as well as opening summer courses to teach the holy Koran and other educational courses, seminars educational conferences and others, as well as the interest of the two associations in opening schools in their various educational stages and the interest in helping those in need, various material and moral aid, the two associations have received widespread attention and acceptance in the feminist community.

Politics of epistemology in postcolonial Africa: The Islamisation of knowledge in the Sudan

ABSTRACT This article discusses the Islamisation of knowledge policy that the Islamist regime in the Sudan undertook between 1989 and 2019. It investigates the inner workings of this policy, its epistemic orientations, methodologies, and practices to understand the relationship between religion, education, and politics. The article argues that the Islamisation of knowledge project is comprised of a set of ideas, epistemic theories, and empirical programmes that aim to ‘liberate’ Muslims from coloniality and rebuild their minds in accordance with an Islamic epistemology. It uncovers how Islamisation of knowledge protagonists portray their epistemology in their intellectual forums and academia. How are the ideas, theories, and educational programmes associated with this form of knowledge implemented through academic institutions? The article addresses analytical conceptions such as Islamic thought and scrutinizes the doctrine, epistemic orientation, and socio-cultural representations imposed on students by Islamisation of knowledge proponents through education policy and curricular programmes. What is Islamic in their educational philosophies and practices? What conceptions of Islamisation underpin this epistemic discourse and practices in academic institutions in the Sudan? At what points do Islam and education ontologically converge and diverge? How do they accommodate one another? The article delves into a detailed ethnography that answers these questions.

Indigenous Textual Cultures: Reading and Writing in the Age of Global Empire ed. by Tony Ballantyne, Lachy Paterson, and Angela Wanhalla (review)

Reviewed by: Indigenous Textual Cultures: Reading and Writing in the Age of Global Empire ed. by Tony Ballantyne, Lachy Paterson, and Angela Wanhalla Savannah Esquivel (bio) Indigenous Textual Cultures: Reading and Writing in the Age of Global Empire edited by Tony Ballantyne, Lachy Paterson, and Angela Wanhalla Duke University Press, 2020 INDIGENOUS TEXTUAL CULTURES examines literacy practices and communication technologies in Indigenous societies impacted in particular by British and French intrusion in the nineteenth through twenty-first centuries. Literacy has often been examined from the point of view of imperial agents or anti-colonial leaders. Indigenous Textual Cultures shifts focus by highlighting the potency of orality and auditory practices. It contends Indigenous societies used alphabetic literacy to intervene in emergent transregional communication networks, often sustaining Indigenous knowledge practices through a "symbiotic relationship" between literacy and orality (149). A range of studies examines how Indigenous textual literacy exposed contradictions within colonial matrices of power, undermined the authority of the written or printed word, and compelled colonial agents to rethink material and discursive contours of mass literacy campaigns. The volume delivers a nuanced picture of how Indigenous mobilizations of literacy created new intellectual forums in an increasingly interconnected world. Indigenous Textual Cultures presents a range of approaches for uplifting the writing and reading practices of Indigenous societies from models that place literacy and orality in opposition. On the one hand, contributors deftly engage canonical debates about literacy and orality to establish a framework for delinking settler-colonial perspectives and historiographical antecedents from analyses of writing and reading in Indigenous communities. By showing that Western notions of literacy do not align with the Indigenous knowledge traditions inscribed on paper or recorded on cassette tapes, the authors in this collection underline the necessity for new interpretative approaches that address the push-pull dynamics of literacy and incorporate the perspective of Indigenous writers, readers, and listeners. On the other hand, the volume's meticulous examination of the sonic contours of a range of "texts" in imperial and ancestral languages—from grief chants to pidgin-language newspapers, didactic narratives to radio broadcasts—opens up new avenues for analysis of the performative and imaginative [End Page 195] dimensions of Indigenous literacy practices. Indeed, examining Indigenous writing through the lens of the "durability of orality" (196) reminds us that colonial impositions could serve as potent vehicles for expressing Indigenous priorities. Organized thematically into four parts, Indigenous Textual Cultures intersects with recent work on textual media and communication systems often engaged on a hemispheric level. The volume's twelve chapters and introduction focus on southern Africa, Australia, North America, and the Pacific Islands. Notably, the collection enfolds scholarship on imperial and vernacular literacies in Africa, initiating a conversation that transcends disciplinary and geopolitical boundaries. The first part, "Archives & Debates," engages the underutilized archive of Indigenous-language sources in the Pacific. Studies demonstrate Indigenous societies actively participated in writing and used textual practices and technologies for the intergenerational exchange of knowledge embedded in oral culture. In particular, Lachy Paterson stresses the "interplay of oral and textual forms" (92) when documents were read out loud as a reminder that nonwriters were nevertheless active participants in literacy culture. The second part, "Orality and Texts," examines how Indigenous communities maintained a "primacy of orality" (136) alongside new communicative practices, technologies, and skills. The introduction of writing fostered auditory practices that bolster Indigenous historical memories and oral recitation structures. The third part, "Readers," focuses on the creation of new publics, notably centering societies for whom colonization and the introductions of writing and reading is a living memory. Here, studies of literacy transmission reveal Indigenous peoples engaged with newspapers in vernacular and imperial languages, Christian radio broadcasts, and missives in unexpected ways, compelling missionaries and bureaucrats to reformulate strategies to accommodate the preferences of new Indigenous publics. The fourth and final part, "Writers," considers how Indigenous literacy intervenes in colonial textual regimes that erase and rework Indigenous texts. By examining how Indigenous writers take a "portfolio approach to authorship" (247), the authors posit an expansive notion of literacy to encompass the dynamic social relations embedded in the practices Indigenous writers mobilized when writing for their own communities. The most compelling chapters in Indigenous Textual Cultures...

GRAMMAR ISSUES FOR MUSTAFA JAWAD (APPLIED STUDY)

Mustafa Jawad was one of the flags of Iraq’s renaissance in the modern era. His name became known and spread in Arab scientific and linguistic academies, and literary and intellectual forums. He was a proven historian, an unquestionable investigator, and a linguist who surrounded the kingdom of the vast and sprawling language because Arabic is to him: (a grave, great, orthodox language for a nation). Generous, great, ancient language, noble descent, arithmetic, rich in words, abundant in grammar, ever-increasing, steadily increasing, derivation, musical pronunciation, poetic letters, abundant literature, abundant in substance. He heard the poems of praise and lamentation in the family of the Messenger (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him and his family), he accepted to plow it, study it and read the books written in its art, and his love for her grew, and he fell in love with her, traces the stray and the one coming from it, digging into its secrets and subtleties, defending it, correcting this, criticizing that. He searches for a common way that facilitates the ways of knowing her, and raises her status, after the tribulations of time coincided with her, then collectively expresses her tongue, and collectively raises her foundations and structure.

On the Road Without a Map: Why We Need an “Ethic of Road Ecology”

Over the past two decades, our knowledge of the ecological impacts of roads has increased rapidly. It is now clear that the environmental effects of transportation infrastructure are inextricable from transportation benefits to economic, social, and cultural values. Despite the necessity of optimizing these multiple values, road planners, scientists, and practitioners have no established methodology or pluralistic approach to address growing ethical complexities. We articulate five ethical issues that could be addressed by developing an ethic of road ecology in order to facilitate the identification, reasoning, and harmonization of ethical dimensions of road planning and development. This inquiry into road ecology can draw lessons from existing applied ethics, such as in ecological restoration and urban planning, to build a narrative that is informed by both science and ethics. We illustrate five ethical issues presented through case studies that elaborate on the motivations, responsibilities, and duties that should be considered in ethically and scientifically complicated road building decisions. To address these issues, we encourage the development of a code of ethics, dedicated intellectual forums, and practical guidance to assist road planners, and more broadly transportation practitioners, to resolve complex ethical quandaries systematically. We hope this perspective encourages conversation for a holistic yet pragmatic approach to this applied ethics problem, while also assisting responsible parties as they navigate difficult moral terrain.

Chief Editor's Voice

The RMC of the campus feels much pleasure to publish the annual multi-disciplinary peer reviewed research journal DRISTIKON as vol. 11(1). The journal and the articles published in it are clear evidence and fulfill the requirements laid down by UGC, Nepal, Tribhuvan University Service Commission, APA 7th ed. and other platforms.
 The journal is designed to serve as an outlet for an intellectual forum for the communication of intellectual ideas among professionals and other social scientists in relevant areas in general and with special reference to Nepal. The board welcomes all the professionals, researchers and all those interested to publish their research findings with significant contribution to society, education sector and international platform. Authors are also encouraged to submit papers which are related to current international, national or local issues.
 Almost all the scholarly and research articles published in the journal undergo the editorial peer review process prior to publication to fulfill the requirements of peer review process guided by UGC, Nepal and international standard. The goal of the peer review process is to ensure that the valid article is accepted, the messy article cleaned up, and the invalid article rejected. The board of editors has accepted the reviewer’s recommendations. All the articles submitted for publication are subjected to rigorous double blinded peer review to ensure its quality before it gets published. 
 Manuscripts submitted to this journal must not have been published or accepted for publication or submitted for publication elsewhere. The journal strictly follows guidelines of APA 7th ed. as well as strongly opposes plagiarized contents without proper citation.
 Following the necessary corrections and additions resulting from the review process the twenty accepted papers were included into the issue covering the specific areas of Nepali, English, Political Science, Science and Management. The cooperation extended by scholars and institutions in publishing this journal is highly appreciated.
 The opinions expressed in the articles are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of either the publisher or the editorial board. All manuscripts once published becomes the property of the publisher. We hope that inspiration and encouragement from the readers will continue to keep the ‘Dristikon’ alive and develop. We are also looking forward to receiving your comments and suggestions for further improvement in the future.
 We are grateful to the peer reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions. The editorial board heartily thanks all the writers who have contributed research articles. We would also like to give special thanks to the campus chief Mr. Damodar Bhandari for his constant support in terms of finance and administration for the publication of this journal.

Preface

This present volume contains the proceeding of the 2nd Annual Conference of Science & Technology (Ancoset) 2020. In this year, the 2nd Ancoset was virtually delivered through online platform due to Covid-19 Pandemic on November 28, 2020. This conference was organized by Universitas PGRI Kanjuruhan Malang and co-organized by Rumah Publikasi Indonesia.Taking the theme of The Role of Science and Technology Application on Building Community Resilience during New Normal, we provided intellectual forum for students, researchers, lecturers, and practitioners. There are 221 papers collected which propose an insightful thought on the frontier knowledge about science and technology and its application. This conference opens an opportunity for scientific cooperation as well as international collaboration as it attended by almost two hundreds participants both across Indonesia and Asia.We really appreciate all support given for the success of the 2nd Ancoset 2020 and thus would like to express our gratitude to everyone who has taken part in this event:• The scientific reviewers for helping authors come up with a good quality paper,• The distinguished keynote speakers: Assoc. Prof. Sudi Dul Aji, M.Pd (Universitas PGRI Kanjuruhan Malang), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Massudi Mahmuddin (Universiti Utara Malaysia), Prof. Ida Hamidah, M.Si (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia), Prof. Dr. Ade Gafar Abdullah, M.Si (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia),• Co-Host universities: Universitas Al-Ghifari, Universitas Hamzanwadi, Universitas PGRI Semarang, Institut Teknologi Nasional Malang, Universitas Ma Chung, Universitas Bhinneka PGRI, Universitas PGRI Adi Buana Surabaya, IKIP PGRI Jember,• All presenters and participants, and• The committee members for the commitment, effort, and hard work in accomplishing the conference and proceeding.We wish you all a fruitful gathering and see you on the next conference.List of The Editors, COMMITTEES are available in this pdf.

International Law Enforcement Observer I.

The professional and scientific journal of the Ministry of the Interior fulfills its dual mission by exploiting the opportunities provided by the press: prompt, accurate and credible information on the practice of home affairs administration; and the creation of an intellectual forum offering a media platform for law enforcement in addition to political science and law. Scientificity knows no borders, and research results require international competition. Our founding predecessors knew this well. Let us recall the work of the late Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Lajos Nyerges, who has been taking care of the former Külföldi Figyelő (Foreign Observer) published as an appendix to Belügyi Szemle since the seventies, with rich content, the transmission of rule of law samples and the presentation of cutting-edge forensics. The international heading that is now emerging not only sees the preservation of old values as its vocation, but also pays attention to the challenges of our time. It opens resources for researchers of law enforcement theory, adopted by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2003, by presenting the most valuable publications of foreign press, especially the journals that have gained a reputation in the cultivation of social sciences. It also contributes to the teaching and theoretical work of the Law Enforcement Faculty of the University of Public Services, it supports the main goal of the Doctoral School of Law Enforcement, the preparation of future practitioners of Law Enforcement, and last but not least, it provides a worldwide outlook for all readers of the paper. The International Law Enforcement Observer genre requires to faithfully reflect the original content of the presented studies. There is no doubt that, on a correct interpretation, a review may contain personal impressions and critical remarks, but in the present case the emphasis is on the undistorted publication of ideas expressed in the foreign language literature. If as we hope, the implementation of the original program of the Observer succeeds, then its main mission will be to regularly inform readers about current topics in the international literature. It is reasonable to encourage the future authors of the new heading to prepare their writings with this thought-provoking, textual approach. If everyone who would undertake a presentation would endow their writing with individual tastes, exactly the point, the information would be lost. It is an advantage for those interested in scientific life to have the necessary critical skills, which the Observer can only strengthen, although it is not a discussion forum. At the same time, the colorful theme of the writings appearing here is broadening the horizons of proficiency by increasing the assessment skills of early-stage researchers, making them suitable to appear successfully in international forums at a later stage. We hope that the new heading will also attract the attention of law enforcement leader and executive professionals, who can gain experience on how it is possible to use the results of science in practice and how to find a partner in researchers to support practice. The introductory issue of the International Law Enforcement Observer publishes the work of the students of the Doctoral School of Law Enforcement. Reviews can be grouped around three topics: a modern approach to law enforcement and security; efficiency and legitimacy as the basis for law enforcement legitimacy; the tasks of the police during a pandemic.

КОМИССИЯ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ ПО ДЕЛАМ ЮНЕСКО КАК УНИКАЛЬНЫЙ ЭЛЕМЕНТ МИССИИ ОРГАНИЗАЦИИ

Today UNESCO is the largest intellectual forum where the most important directions of the world community development in the humanitarian sphere are being discussed and implemented. In this very body，beyond politically-charged confrontations and on the basis of the principle of consensus priority，a collective search for answers to the most important common human problems is carried out. In this context the UNESCO mission can hardly be overestimated. National Commissions for UNESCO in their turn are the essential link between the Member-States and the Organization. Political turbulence and complex contradictions of a number of leading countries of the world nowadays impose on UNESCO the priority task to model a new matrix of intellectual cooperation and demonstrate the urgent need to develop innovative mechanisms for the implementation of the main UNESCO goals and ideals. In this regard it is extremely important to get a more complete picture of the practical contribution of the National Commissions to the UNESCO activities on the example of the Russian Federation and to present recommendations that would have a positive and beneficial effect on the overall activities of the network. The author has made an attempt to systematically analyze the activities of this specialized entity of Russia to promote and popularize the UNESCO principles and values. A projection of the most important vectors is presented in the research. The most innovative mechanisms for the UNESCO programs and applied projects have been identified. The author has analyzed the possibilities of capacity-building of the National Commission. Some aspects related to its strategic objectives are reflected in the research. Particular attention is dedicated to the task of creating new pillars of the National Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO in the regions of Russia

Design Consideration for Inter-Religious Dialogue in Malaysia: The Incorporation of Contact Theory

Inter-religious dialogue has been implemented in Malaysia by various organizations, be it Muslim’s or Non-Muslim’s organizations as early as 1950s.Often being carried out in the format of intellectual discourse and forum, its accessibility to the non-academician, non-scholars and non-elite is uncertain.If the inter-religious dialogue programs could not reach the grassroots, its effectiveness in addressing inter-religious issues that affected the grassroots is also doubtful.International dialogue practitioners has begun to include number of theories in their dialogue designs to reach out broader range of community.One of the theories is Contact Theory proposed by Gordon Allport (1959) aims at addressing in-group/out-group bias.Therefore, this study attempts to examine the application of Contact Theory in two models of inter-religious dialogue in Malaysia (i.e. Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia (IKIM) and Inter-faith Spiritual Fellowship (INSaF)).Case study research design was employed in order to identify the design of interreligious dialogue and the presence of Contact Theory within the two models.Data obtained through interviews and document analysis were than analysed using within-case and cross-case analysis (Miles & Huberman, 1994).The finding suggest that IKIM’s and INSaF’s inter-religious dialogue models did not include any special session that allowed a real dialogue or cooperative interaction (one of important elements in Contact Theory) to take place among the participants.Without cooperative interaction among the participants, it would be difficult for these two models to reap the benefit of Contact Theory.Future research should focus on developing inter-religious dialogue design that is more appropriate for the grassroots with the inclusion of Contact Theory.

Editors’ Letter

Editors’ Letter

Интеллектуальный форум «Франкфуртская школа: читая Хабермаса»

The article presents an overview of the events in the framework of the intellectual forum "Frankfurt School: Reading Habermas" held at Volgograd State University with the support of the Moscow branch of the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung.

Baron de Vastey and the Origins of Black Atlantic Humanism by Marlene L. Daut

Reviewed by: Baron de Vastey and the Origins of Black Atlantic Humanism by Marlene L. Daut Alessandra Benedicty-Kokken Baron de Vastey and the Origins of Black Atlantic Humanism. By Marlene L. Daut. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017. ISBN 978-1-137-47969-3. 244 pp. $24.99/21.39€ e-book, $34.99/29.11€ paperback. An absorbing and riveting read, Marlene Daut's Baron de Vastey and the Origins of Black Atlantic Humanism is a scholarly feat. Organized around the question of what is at stake in reading, misreading, and rereading Vastey's life, then and now, Daut's sharp agility in distilling complex temporalities and geographies into well-argued, judicious writing allows us as scholars and pedagogues to take into consideration multiple perspectives. The book is methodologically exemplary in its comprehensive historical analysis of Vastey's life and notably his relationship to Henry Christophe (1767–1820) as Christophe ruled first as President of the State of Haiti (1807–1811) and then as King of Haiti (1811–1820). Vastey was "the most prolific secretary of early nineteenth-century Haiti's King Henry Christophe I" and the author of many publications, notably "a scathing indictment of colonial slavery entitled, Le Système colonial dévoilé (1814)" (xv). He was also at the time "an international public figure" (xv), with his works translated into multiple languages, and Daut argues that his books "became the signs and symbols of the promises of black sovereignty in the Atlantic World" (68). Daut's historical and also literary analyses of Vastey meticulously and courageously traverse the complexities of what it means to confront not [End Page 159] only extremely complex and even often misleading or erroneous archival sources but also the fraught political stakes that undergird both the archives and how they have been interpreted hitherto by scholars of Vastey. Daut begs of us that we meticulously practice our historiography not to categorize or judge Vastey but rather to scrupulously delineate the many and often necessarily contradictory gambles involved in being the secretary of King Christophe in a postrevolutionary Haitian context. In a riveting passage that draws on Edouard Glissant's call to respect opacity, even and especially in the process of historiography, Daut concludes a deliberation of recent scholarship by warning historians to reject the impulse to find certainty where ambiguity exists. We would like to know, and often think we can know, the real Vastey, in the same way that many of our attempts to historicize the era of Christophe lead us down the path of trying to determine whether his government was as despotic (or benevolent), as some reports suggest. (107) What is most striking in Daut's scholarship and her writing is that she introduces the Glissantian exigency of radical new historiography as a sort of climactic moment in her book. Given that Glissant's status as a major world philosopher remains contested among scholars outside Africana studies, Daut first proves her scholarship as worthy of the most conservative yet still powerful disciplines of academe, notably history and rhetoric, and then introduces Glissant's concepts at the end of the third chapter to reveal the crucial role of Global-Majority philosophy, literary history, and discourse analysis in proving her overarching argument: Vastey then and now is a crucial figure in helping to lay bare how history-writing continues to be conscripted into the mechanisms of empire and its aftermaths. The prologue sets the stage for two central themes of the book: first, the overwhelming prominence of Vastey's persona and writing not only in the Haitian public sphere but also in Britain, mainland Europe, and the United States, where his work was translated into multiple languages, as well as more recently in the Caribbean and elsewhere in North America, notably through the medium of theater; second, the key role that rhetoric played in his writing, as a means of countering the virulent critiques from his opponents while at the same time engaging in highly performative analyses of the systemic violence of slavery and racism, putting into play critical race theory "avant la lettre" (xviii). For example, since he engaged in formal intellectual forums, which were particularly vituperative, Vastey developed complex...

Graduates’ Employability through the University Entrepreneurship Curriculum Implementation: The Malaysian Context

Unemployment among Malaysian graduates has become a grievous issue, which attracts serious debates at several intellectual forums, seminars, conferences and other intellectual platforms. The concerned parties are government, academics, non-governmental agencies, academics and others. The issue makes other countries to question the Malaysian educational system and extensively affects the Malaysia’s vision of becoming developed country in 2025 (Ekpe, 2017). Thus, Malaysian government has identified three measures that could help to tackle the problem of unemployment among graduates. One, reforming the curricula to ensure quality and training. This was highlighted by the Prime Minister in his Budget speech in 2013. Second, the recent implementation of “1 Malaysia Training Scheme (SLIM) in 2011. Third, reforming the higher education curricula to stimulate the students’ mind set towards entrepreneurship (Bin Yusuf, Zainol & Bin Ibrahim, 2015; Bustamam & Abdul Halit, 2016). Nevertheless, the recent statistics (December, 2012-January, 2013), portray high level of unemployment among the graduates at the rate of 2.4 percent; and relatively signifies that graduates in Malaysia do not participate much in SLIM (Shamsuddin & Mohamed Mahfol, 2013; Statistics Labour Force, 2013).

From the Editor

From the Editor Brenda Machosky, PhD, Editor, Antipodes An Issue Out of Time This issue goes to press ten months into the year of living with COVID-19, which is nearly a full year after the date on the volume's cover. Part of me wanted to be coy about this delay, simply elide the disjunction between the published date and the actual publication. But to tell the truth, it seems more important to acknowledge where we are and how we are. Antipodes has been running behind schedule for the past few issues, and the patience of our contributors and subscribers has been much appreciated. The delays have yielded some fortuitous timing, such as the publication of Soren Tae Smith's thoughtful piece on the mosque bombing in Christchurch in the June 2019 issue, apparently just a few months later than the event (although actually a year delayed). "This Is a Difficult Piece to Write" was both a timely and an atemporal reflection on the literal and figurative tragedy of a world that seems increasingly divided at the same time that it finds unity in disasters, naturally and humanly induced. So perhaps it is fitting that Antipodes lags behind time, for now, offering an opportunity to reflect on the present in the past. The feature of this issue is a special section that is also both timely and out of time. Weihsin Gui and Cheryl Narumi Naruse have curated a wide-ranging selection of essays about the Southeast Asian diaspora in Australia and also New Zealand. This special topic emerged from a 2020 MLA cosponsored session between the American Association for Australasian Literary Studies (the sponsor of Antipodes) and the Southeast Asia and Southeast Asia Diasporic Forum of MLA. In January 2020, Seattle was quiet, rainy (of course), and, well, mundanely normal. MLA was vibrant, interactive, busy . . . maskless. Little did we know how much these worlds would change—within a matter of weeks as COVID-19 descended on that very city and within a matter of months with the ascent of demands for social justice. Both of these issues are global in scope, both timely and temporally transcendent. While none of the essays here deal with illness, several address dis-ease. Chi Vu's reflection on the practical politics of theater in Australia is a timely commentary on the struggle to represent difference, the challenge of being perceived as different, the only partially true claims of diversity. The artist Vaughan Rapatahana brings a Māori voice to Antipodes in both poetry and prose. His "Ngā Whānau" offers a hopeful but real glimpse of a potential for unity as a family comes to recognize itself. A new section dubbed "From All Over . . . About Down Under" provides a space for timely events of the past brought into the presence of our readers, and it also represents a future direction for the journal, which has a distinctly international readership. As editor, I have been amazed at the submissions from every region of the world, from scholars attracted to literature and culture that is, for most of us, a different time of year and, for many of us, a different day quite literally. [End Page 199] Antipodes has always prided itself on its hybrid structure and content, and this will not change. The journal will offer rigorous scholarship, creative content, book reviews of poetry, prose, nonfiction, and scholarship, and always a work of visual art on the cover. The sponsoring organization, AAALS, shares this identity with the journal it supports, with annual conferences that include a space for the creative work of our members in conjunction with the communities where we meet as well as an intellectual forum for engagement on current events in our shared area of interest and new directions in scholarship. The journal will also evolve. This issue includes abstracts for the academic articles, so that Antipodes will gain recognition with international indices and so that subscribers and readers can get a deeper look at the content of upcoming issues. The creative prose is now in its own section, while the poetry will remain a verbal amuse bouche appearing throughout the volume. The new (or perhaps...

Faith, Devotion, and Doctrinal Knowledge

Abstract The genre of kōshiki 講式 (ceremonial lectures) has, over the last decade, gained significant traction in the fields of Buddhist studies and Japanese religions, but its commentarial sub-genre remains largely unexplored. While kōshiki offer fertile ground for understanding devotional practices across nearly all Buddhist schools in Japan, commentaries reveal how Buddhists understood their liturgical content and, more narrowly, how this content was consumed and re-purposed through intellectual endeavor. This article contributes to this understudied area in two ways. First, it demonstrates how the medieval Shingon cleric Gahō 我寶 (1239–1317) wielded the Shari kuyō shiki 舎利供養式, a ceremonial lecture written by Kakuban 覺鑁 (1095–1143), as a textual and performative embodiment of faith and devotion. Second, it suggests that his commentary gave shape to expressions of these very themes in various intellectual, performative, and editorial forums in later periods at the Kyoto temple Chishakuin 智積院.

BAHTSUL MASAIL DAN KITAB KUNING DI PESANTREN

Bahtsul masail is one of the mechanisms of Islamic jurisprudence in Indonesia which is done collectively (jama’ i). Forum that comes fromthis pesantren is not consisted of permanent council, but open to kiai and jurisprudence. The term bahtsul masail itself comes from pesantren, which is a substitute for the word ijtihad or istinbath. Bahtsul masail can also be referred to as intellectual forum of pesantren outside the learning system. In the tradition of pesantren learning, the students studied the yellow book with sorogan and bandongan system. In the sorogan tradition, the santri individually get direct guidance from the kiai or ustadz. While in the bandongan system the santri together listened to the reading and explanation of the kiai while giving notesto their respective books. While the mass bahsul masail in pesantren is a higher-level recitation system, involving senior santri who have met certain scientific standards, or alumni who have completed the education phase at the pesantren. In this issue the senior students and alumni of pesantren are ‘challenged’ to think hard and solve various religious problems faced by the surrounding community with the reference of ‘kitab kuning’ that have been studied. Bahtsul masail not only serves as a forum for discussion or assessment forums, more than that bahtsul masail becomes a forum of legal determination on some importantissues concerning the problematic of people from time to time. When it was adopted by Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) since the founding of the organization in 1926, bahtsul masail has grown, both in terms of the choice of masail (question), as well as its procedures of discussion and ratification; according to the development flow of NU organization from year to year. It can be simply said that the first bahtsul masail was a forum to seek the reference of various religious questions (masa’il diniyyah) from collective kitab kuning (jama’ i).

Welcome Remarks

At Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), we take pride in expanding new ideas and promoting lifelong knowledge. UNITEN has an academic environment where exceptional students and scholars worldwide can be inspired to excel in their fields of study and research. The BOLD 2020 strategic plan for Universiti Tenaga Nasional represents a commitment to improving quality, and an aspiration to be recognised among the leading institutions of higher learning in Malaysia and in the rest of the world.Sustainable research in the energy sector is one of the key agenda of UNITEN. This is clearly worded in its mission statement as; “We strive to advance knowledge and learning experience through research and innovation that will best serve human society”. BOLD 2020 has also set a goal for Advancing Research in the Energy Industry, in line with UNITEN as “The National Energy University”. UNITEN’s commitment in promoting research activities is evident from the amount of research undertaken that continues to increase year after year.The Centre for Renewable Energy, CRE, was established by UNITEN, as a centre of excellence for research and development in Renewable Energy. The core of CRE's strategic direction is in research and development programmes mainly in understanding renewable resources for energy, to the conversion of these resources to renewable electricity and fuels. CRE has established its core strength through continuous, innovative and excellent research achievements. CRE provides a sustainable platform for strategic partnerships between the authorities, industry and academia into greater achievements in national renewable energy development with the vision to be the leading centre of excellence and regional knowledge hub in renewable energy. The centre's pool of scientists and researchers support critical market objectives to accelerate research from scientific innovations to market-viable alternative energy solutions. The centre thereby directly contributes to our nation's goal for finding new renewable ways to power our homes, industries, businesses, and transportation.My heartiest congratulations to CRE and the ICARET 2016 Organizing Committee for putting together this important event, providing an intellectual forum for exchange of knowledge and information in the development of renewable energy (RE), and its related enabling technologies. The outcomes and proceedings of the conference will be an important input to the Nation’s effort on Green Technology and Renewable Energy implementation.I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all participants and wish all of you the very best in your deliberations and discussions on this important topic of renewable energy.Thank you.

Authors@UF Campus Conversation Series: A Case Study

The Authors@UF program series emerged to showcase the scholarship and creativity of faculty, creating an intellectual forum within the academic library, and providing informal, extra-curriculum, academic engagement between students and faculty outside the classroom. This article identifies steps to launch an author program, and considerations in finding authors, locating the event, publicizing, budgeting, catering, selling books, and creating an off-shoot vehicle (i.e., “The Authors@UF Bookshelf”) to place University of Florida (UF) authors in the institutional repository. This new UF program embraced current academic library service trends, expanded roles for library liaisons, and advanced the library's fundamental role as an intellectual forum for the campus community.